Former mayor guilty of misconduct, theft

Brady, 52, convicted after six-week trial in Superior Court

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Brian Brady

“This captain apparently thought that the rules of his department and the laws of this state did not apply to him, because he repeatedly broke them to suit his own purposes. This verdict demonstrates that nobody is above the law.”Acting Attorney General Hoffman.

BY BRETT LAKE

SPARTA — Former Sparta Mayor Brian Brady was found guilty Tuesday of charges that he misused police databases for personal purposes while a captain with the New Jersey Human Services Police.

Brady, 52, was found guilty of second-degree official misconduct and computer theft by Superior Court Judge Andrew J. Smithson following a six-week bench trial in Mercer County, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

Each charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison.

Brady was acquitted on other official misconduct counts, theft by deception and tampering with public records.

Brady was convicted for using a police database to conduct background checks on members of a minor league baseball team and a health care worker.

“This captain apparently thought that the rules of his department and the laws of this state did not apply to him, because he repeatedly broke them to suit his own purposes,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “This verdict demonstrates that nobody is above the law.”

Brady’s attorney, Mario A. Iavicoli, on Wednesday called the charges ludicrous, saying the records Brady sought from the databases were public information.

According to Iavicoli, Brady used the databases because he was concerned the home health aid worker he was considering hiring for his mother was an illegal immigrant, and that he looked up the baseball team records to make sure there would be no issues in crossing international borders.

"In both instances we felt he had a legitimate reason to do it," Iavicoli said.

Brady's career has since been ruined, Iavicoli said.

"A lot was made about very little," he said.

As part of the conviction, Brady is permanently barred from public employment.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Cynthia M. Vazquez and Victor R. Salgado, of the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.

Brady served as a Sparta councilman and mayor from 2004 to 2010. He was serving on the Sparta Planning Board at the time of the indictment and was asked to resign immediately. He was the third highest ranking officer was with the Human Services Police. He was suspended when the charges were handed down in May 2011.

The Human Services Police provide police services at developmental centers and psychiatric hospitals throughout the state.

“This police supervisor repeatedly treated a restricted law enforcement database like his personal information clearinghouse, even running background checks on all of the members of his minor league baseball team,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “There’s no room in law enforcement for this type of rogue behavior. I commend the trial team and investigators for ensuring that justice was done in this case.”

According to the state, Brady directed an employee to conduct background checks using the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, a secure program that is for police purposes only. He also had the employee use the police database and state databases to run a check on a home health aid worker, who he was considering hiring for his mother, accoridng to the attorney general's office.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has established a toll free tips line for the public to confidentially report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities at 1-866-TIPS-4CJ.

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